Schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders are often found in patients affected by DiGeorge/velo-cardio-facial syndrome (DGS/VCFS) as a result of hemizygosity of chromosome 22q11.2. We evaluated the UFD1L gene, mapping within the DGS/VCFS region, as a potential candidate for schizophrenia susceptibility. UFD1L encodes for the ubiquitin fusion degradation 1 protein, which is expressed in the medial telencephalon during mouse development. Using case control, simplex families (trios), and functional studies, we provided evidence for association between schizophrenia and a single nucleotide functional polymorphism, -277A/G, located within the noncoding region upstream the first exon of the UFD1L gene. The results are supportive of UFD1L involvement in the neurodevelopmental origin of schizophrenia and contribute in delineating etiological and pathogenetic mechanism of the schizophrenia subtype related to 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.
At last, all the major emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have agreed under the Copenhagen Accord that global average temperature increase should be kept below 2 degrees C. This study develops the criteria for limiting the warming below 2 degrees C, identifies the constraints imposed on policy makers, and explores available mitigation avenues. One important criterion is that the radiant energy added by human activities should not exceed 2.5 (range: 1.7-4) watts per square meter (Wm(-2)) of the Earth's surface. The blanket of man-made GHGs has already added 3 (range: 2.6-3.5) Wm(-2). Even if GHG emissions peak in 2015, the radiant energy barrier will be exceeded by 100%, requiring simultaneous pursuit of three avenues: (i) reduce the rate of thickening of the blanket by stabilizing CO(2) concentration below 441 ppm during this century (a massive decarbonization of the energy sector is necessary to accomplish this Herculean task), (ii) ensure that air pollution laws that reduce the masking effect of cooling aerosols be made radiant energy-neutral by reductions in black carbon and ozone, and (iii) thin the blanket by reducing emissions of short-lived GHGs. Methane and hydrofluorocarbons emerge as the prime targets. These actions, even if we are restricted to available technologies for avenues ii and iii, can reduce the probability of exceeding the 2 degrees C barrier before 2050 to less than 10%, and before 2100 to less than 50%. With such actions, the four decades we have until 2050 should be exploited to develop and scale-up revolutionary technologies to restrict the warming to less than 1.5 degrees C.
Higher plants are an integral part of strategies for sustained human presence in space. Space-based greenhouses have the potential to provide closed-loop recycling of oxygen, water and food. Plant monitoring systems with the capacity to remotely observe the condition of crops in real-time within these systems would permit operators to take immediate action to ensure optimum system yield and reliability. One such plant health monitoring technique involves the use of reporter genes driving fluorescent proteins as biological sensors of plant stress. In 2006 an initial prototype green fluorescent protein imager system was deployed at the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse located in the Canadian High Arctic. This prototype demonstrated the advantageous of this biosensor technology and underscored the challenges in collecting and managing telemetric data from exigent environments. We present here the design and deployment of a second prototype imaging system deployed within and connected to the infrastructure of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse. This is the first imager to run autonomously for one year in the un-crewed greenhouse with command and control conducted through the greenhouse satellite control system. Images were saved locally in high resolution and sent telemetrically in low resolution. Imager hardware is described, including the custom designed LED growth light and fluorescent excitation light boards, filters, data acquisition and control system, and basic sensing and environmental control. Several critical lessons learned related to the hardware of small plant growth payloads are also elaborated.
OBJECTIVES: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a risk factor for stroke of undetermined (cryptogenic) origin. Low cost and non-invasive bedside tests for detection of PFO are needed as alternatives to contrast transesophageal echocardiography. We investigated whether dye dilution curves and oximeter recordings are useful for detecting PFO and what is the prevalence of PFO in patients with cryptogenic stroke determined with these bedside methods. We also studied whether stroke risk factors, number of brain lesions, and stroke recurrence rates were different in patients with an unexplained stroke with and without PFO. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Dye dilution curves and oximeter recordings with non-invasive earpiece apparatus were obtained in 59 patients aged under 50 years who had had a cryptogenic brain infarction. The number of ischemic lesions in the brain was counted by MRI. RESULTS: PFO was found in 24 (41%) of 59 patients. There was a 100% concordance in results obtained by dye dilution and by oximetry. Risk factors for stroke were similar in subjects with PFO and those without PFO. No significant association was found between PFO and Valsalva-like activity at stroke onset. Those with PFO did not have more ischemic lesions detected by MRI nor did they have more recurrent ischemic episodes. CONCLUSION: Dye dilution and oximetry are cheap and useful methods for detection of PFO and could be used for screening of the risk of paradoxical embolism. Because these 2 methods were not compared with the golden standard, transesophageal echocardiography, the specificity and sensitivity of the tests remain unsettled.
This manual is to be used by military personnel separated from their units while on duty in the Arctic regions. Its purpose is to aid individuals to recognize edible food plants of the area so that in emergency they may subsist from the land. The manual illustrates and describes briefly the most important edible berries, greens, and roots of the most northern areas.
Notes
Available upon request at the Alaska Medical Library, located on the second floor of UAA/APU Consortium Library. Ask for accession no. 100859.
Effect of water hardness on the toxicity of cadmium to the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata in an artificial growth medium and nutrient-spiked natural lake waters.
The effect of cadmium (Cd) on the growth rate of the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata was investigated at three different levels of water hardness in an artificial growth medium and in three nutrient spiked, Norwegian natural soft lake waters. The lake water with the lowest levels of hardness and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (Lake Byglandsfjorden) showed the highest toxicity attributed to Cd. In water from this lake without addition of calcium and artificial chelators, the EC50 for inhibition of growth rate was 9.4 microg Cd/L and EC10 was 2.8 microg Cd/L. When the hardness of the waters was increased by addition of calcium the adverse effects of Cd were in general reduced. In all tested media, the concentration/effect slope was reduced with increasing hardness. This led to a higher effect of hardness on EC50 than EC10.
New water-soluble nontoxic nanocomposites of nanosized silver particles in a polymer matrix were synthesized by a green chemistry method. Nontoxic poly(1-vinyl-1,2,4-triazole) was used as a stabilizing precursor agent in aqueous medium. Glucose and dimethyl sulfoxide were used as the silver ion-reducing agents to yield silver nanoparticles 2-26 nm and 2-8 nm in size, respectively. The nanocomposites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption, and thermogravimetric data analysis. The nanocomposites showed strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
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Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Nordic Centre of Excellence for Research in Water Imbalance Related Disorders, Stockholm, Sweden.
Astrocytes play a key role for maintenance of brain water homeostasis, but little is known about mechanisms of short-term regulation of astrocyte water permeability. Here, we report that glutamate increases astrocyte water permeability and that the molecular target for this effect is the aquaporin-4 (AQP4) serine 111 residue, which is in a strategic position for control of the water channel gating. The glutamate effect involves activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR), intracellular calcium release, and activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS). The physiological impact of our results is underlined by the finding that mGluR activation increases the rate of hypoosmotic tissue swelling in acute rat hippocampal slices. Cerebral ischemia is associated with an excessive release of glutamate, and in postischemic cerebral edema ablation of AQP4 attenuates the degree of damage. Thus, we have identified AQP4 as the molecular target for drugs that may attenuate the development of brain edema.
Na(+)-independent Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchangers (AE1, AE2, AE3) are generally known as ubiquitous, multispanning plasma membrane proteins that regulate intracellular pH and transepithelial acid-base balance in animal tissues. However, previous immunological evidence has suggested that anion exchanger (AE) proteins may also be present in intracellular membranes, including membranes of the Golgi complex and mitochondria. Here we provide several lines of evidence to show that an AE protein is indeed a resident of the Golgi membranes and that this protein corresponds to the full-length AE2a isoform in fibroblasts. First, both the N- and C-terminal antibodies to AE2 (but not to AE1) detected an AE protein in the Golgi membranes. Golgi localization of this AE2 antigen was evident also in cycloheximide-treated cells, indicating that it is a true Golgi-resident protein. Second, our Northern blotting and RT-PCR analyses demonstrated the presence of only the full-length AE2a mRNA in cells that show prominent Golgi staining with antibodies to AE2. Third, antisense oligonucleotides directed against the translational initiation site of the AE2a mRNA markedly inhibited the expression of the endogenous AE2 protein in the Golgi. Finally, transient expression of the GFP-tagged full-length AE2a protein resulted in predominant accumulation of the fusion protein in the Golgi membranes in COS-7 and CHO-K1 cells. Golgi localization of the AE2a probably involves its oligomerization and/or association with the recently identified Golgi membrane skeleton, because a substantial portion of both the endogenous AE2a and the GFP-tagged fusion protein resisted detergent extraction in cold. (J Histochem Cytochem 49:259-269, 2001)
We analyzed the international and our own experience of using different dyes in the identification of sentinel lymph nodes in oncogynecological practice. We evaluated the possibility of using indocyanine green (ICG) in the detection of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with endometrial and cervical cancer. The first results of the use of ICG at the Oncogynecology Department of the N.N.Petrov Research Institute of Oncology are presented.
